State at less than 2% of paddy procurement target

HYDERABAD: Paddy procurement by the state government for the kharif season is yet to pick up pace, with procurement of only 1.5 lakh tonnes, against a target of one crore tonnes, completed so far.

Fewer than half of the total 7,000 procurement centres have been opened across the state.

The government initiated paddy procurement in the last week of October by opening 2,000 centres in Nizamabad and Nalgonda districts, where paddy generally arrives first. Since then, only 300 more centres have been opened.

While these centres cover just 14 of 32 districts where procurement centres were proposed, the process has started in only 11 districts so far.

This kharif, paddy was sown on 65 lakh acres, the highest-ever in the state, with the state government targeting to procure one crore tonnes of paddy. The harvest was estimated at 1.41 crore tonnes of paddy, with 41 lakh tonnes expected to be sold in the open market or for seed production.

Farmers in Nirmal, Suryapet and Peddapalli districts complained that though procurement centres were opened, officials are yet to initiate the procurement process.

Farmers in Vikarabad, Rangareddy, Narayanpet, Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Mahabubnagar, Kothagudem, Khammam Mulug, Jangaon, Mahabubabad, Bhoopalapally, Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mancherial, Asifabad and Adilabad districts are demanding the state government open procurement centres at the earliest to initiate the procurement process.

Farmers say that they need money to meet the expenditure for the ongoing rabi season and if the government speeds up the kharif procurement process, they would be able to sow crops for the rabi season.

They said that since Rythu Bandhu for rabi season was also delayed over the past two years, they were heavily dependent on money accrued through the sale of kharif paddy to meet expenditures on rabi crops.

The government has been crediting Rythu Bandhu to farmers for the rabi season in January for the past two years, despite the sowing beginning in November.